Published inThe Straight DopeA Seinfeld-like Tour of Alice in Wonderland at OxfordIt always amazes me the way fans seek any tie they find linking some work of creative fiction to the real world. I myself made a point of…3d ago3d ago
Published inThe Straight DopeIran Checkmates USA Over NuclearWhether the USA has “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities or merely damaged them, whether Iran lost all its enriched uranium or hid it…Jun 30A response icon1Jun 30A response icon1
Published inThe Straight DopeUniversity students are the hope, not the problemIf we think of student activists at all, we think of 1848 or 1968, when idealistic young men and women set out to change the world. They…Jun 29Jun 29
Published inThe Straight DopeMachismo Through The AgesThroughout history, cultures have imposed stress and endurance tests on young men (mostly) to come of age into society, and beyond it. Call…Jun 22Jun 22
Published inThe Straight DopePolitics turns out to be literally depressingPolitics in the USA is not merely numbing, or even just nauseating; it is literally depressing. In The Sad Citizen, Christopher Ojeda looks…Jun 15A response icon3Jun 15A response icon3
Published inThe Straight DopeDavid Mamet drinks the Kool-Aid, spews the nonsense, and make everything he has written suspectThe Disenlightenment by David Mamet is by far the strangest book I have read in a decade or more. It is puzzling to me how a wordsmith and…Jun 8Jun 8
Published inThe Straight DopeBlack humorists in new collectionI was, as usual, hopelessly optimistic that another anthology of humor writers would actually contain humor. Most fail miserably, but Damon…Jun 1Jun 1
Published inThe Straight DopeNoise sucks, and there’s lots more to it than you might thinkChris Berdik has an interesting slant on noise pollution. He thinks we’re so focused on decibels (ie. loudness) that we miss the whole…May 25May 25
Published inThe Straight DopeOf all the factors ushering USA out of first place, crypto will be the killer. Here’s why.The Catalysts by Amanda Wick is a strange beast of a book. The introduction, of all things, is fascinating. That never happens. Wick, a…May 20A response icon3May 20A response icon3
Published inThe Straight DopeSci-fi-worthy alien lifeforms have been here all along, we are now discoveringWe have no idea what we don’t know. Almost daily, someone discovers a new, exotic lifeform the likes of which we have never seen, unless…May 18A response icon1May 18A response icon1